Dark Skies - Sie sind unter uns

This is a fabulous movie with a lot of twists and turns. A great cast and a sensational and very freaky story. I am a connoisseur of alien movies and this is one of the best and deserves a sequel!

An interesting ride would pretty much sum up my experience of this film.

The director did a smart job in the beginning by introducing the subject slowly and gradually in the sense that although we knew something was not quite right with this suburban house, he did not rush to bombard us with any massive amounts of visuals or gory scenes thus leaving us both intrigued and in anticipation mode. That is a technique not commonly used and achieving that takes skill.

Following that, the story runs smoothly as our characters go from surprise, to shock, then disbelief and acceptance. Good choice of adult and children actors, in combination to the gradual built up made this an stimulating watch.

It was the climax that I found to be rather anticlimactic. Nothing innovative, or even new. Whilst it never ceased to be thrilling, let's be clear about that, somehow the overdoing of visuals and certain ambiguities concerning the unfolding of the final moments left me somewhat colder.

Still, it is a highly effective and watchable thriller.

'DARK SKIES': Three Stars (Out of Five)

A science fiction thriller about a family terrorized by an unknown force which may be extraterrestrial in origin. It was written and directed by Scott Stewart (who also helmed the sci-fi thrillers 'LEGION' and 'PRIEST'). It stars Keri Russell, Josh Hamilton, J.K. Simmons, Dakota Goyo (of 'REAL STEEL' fame) and Kadan Rockett. The movie is a routine suspense thriller/horror film but it does have some good scares and creepy imagery.

The film revolves around the Barrett family, who live in the suburbs, struggling to get by while Mr. Barrett, Daniel (Hamilton), tries to find work. Lacy Barrett is a real-estate agent who's struggling to sell a house while her oldest son Jesse (Goyo) is discovering girls. Strange occurrences begin happening in the families' home, involving food in the kitchen, and what first looks like a possible intruder turns into Daniel and Lacy questioning their youngest son Sam's (Rockett) mental stability. Weirder things keep happening though and they soon begin involving the other family members as well.

The movie is kind of slow-paced at times but it has enough good scares throughout to keep it going. It's a little like a 'PARANORMAL ACTIVITY' film except better (in my opinion). It also seems influenced by two Spielberg flicks; 'CLOSE ENCOUNTERS OF THE THIRD KIND' and 'POLTERGEIST'. 'POLTERGEIST' is one of my all time favorite movies in this genre and to say a film resembles it at all is quite a compliment. This film isn't nearly as creative, fun or memorable but it does work as just a thriller. Not a great scary movie but a little better than average.

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The Barrett family lives in a suburb and is presently under tension since Daniel Barrett (Josh Hamilton) has been unemployed for a long time. His wife Lacy (Keri Russell) works part-time as real estate agent but her salary is not enough to financially support the family. They have two sons, the thirteen year-old Jesse (Dakota Goyo) and the little boy Sam (Kadan Rockett), who has nightmares with the sandman.

Out of the blue, the Lacy and Daniel witness weird and disturbing events in their house. Lacy researches in Internet and contact a man called Edwin Pollard (J.K. Simmons); soon they learn that apparently they are the chosen by alien that are among us. What can they do to protect their family and themselves?

"Dark Skies" is a tense horror sci-fi movie, with an ambiguous story that escalates in tension. Unfortunately the conclusion is very disappointing maybe with the intention of a sequel. My vote is six.

Title (Brazil): "Os Escolhidos" ("The Chosen")

Chilling movie with building tension and good ending. Definitely a ufo movie tastefullly done. If seeking a scary movie fueled with scares, this is it.